Fun Facts About Waste: 2 pages of amazing and disturbing statistics about waste, environmental impacts of schools, and practicing the 4Rs. Use some of these "fun facts" in morning announcements, newsletter articles, posters or other communications. >>Download Waste Fun Facts.doc

Video: Think Before You ThrowShow
this video - made by Berkeley High students - in your classroom, at
your PTA meeting, or at an assembly to teach everyone about why it's
important to reduce waste and how to sort properly at school.

Audits School Waste Audit Worksheet
A simple audit worksheet for students to use to do a visual waste audit of the school garbage, compost, and recycling bins in the cafeteria, classrooms, outdoor areas, staff room, etc. Do this at the start of the school year to establish a baseline. Repeat in Spring to track your progress.
>>Download Waste Audit 2013.doc

Central Dumpster Audit Form
- Use this form to audit the central waste dumpsters and/or bins to evaluate both how full they are and the level of contamination. The goal is to have the garbage dumpster less full and the compost and recycling dumpsters more full so that the size of the garbage dumpster and frequency of pickups can be reduced in order to save the school money. Ask a parent to do this task, or work with older students. Do for three weeks in the Fall, repeat in Spring to track your progress.
>>Download Dumpster Audit Form.doc

Student Jobs • Lunchtime Monitors: Tips and a template that will help you create a lunchtime monitor schedule for student jobs to rotate among classes at your school. • Classroom Jobs - Establish classroom jobs for students to take out the compost and recycling to a central bin that custodians will service. For example, students who pickup and return breakfast can also bring the compost back to the cafeteria. Students can take out paper recycling to a larger bin in a hallway or in courtyard.

Green Team Calendar and ChecklistUse this checklist and calendar to plan your classroom, PTA, and school-wide activities throughout the year. >>Download Green Team Calendar and Checklist.doc

Green Classroom RecognitionGet your Green Classroom recognized! Download the Green Classroom Checklist here. This Word document includes instructions, the award checklist, and a sample award certificate. Your classroom can earn one or two stars for taking steps to improve waste sorting and reducing total classroom waste, and for demonstrating that your students understand why it's important to reduce waste.

StopWaste.OrgStopwaste.org
has partnered with Berkeley Unified School District and the Green Star
Schools program to provide BUSD schools with FREE assemblies, classroom
visits, and curricula that educate students about the importance of
recycling, composting, and waste diversion. Click here to find out more about StopWaste.org's school-specific program, iRecycle@School.

BUSD Waste Management ChecklistDownload thischecklistfor an overview of systems and infrastructure for how waste is managed at BUSD schools.

School Waste Pickup ScheduleComing soon!Find out when each type of waste is picked up from your school.

School-Wide Events & Parties

Help reduce waste at large school-wide parties and events like fairs and picnics. For large school-wide events, you can borrow Clear Stream containers by contacting Andy Schneider, (510) 981-6357, aschneider(at)cityofberkeley(dot)info, at least three days in advance. Containers and bags for compost, recycling, and trash are provided free of charge; the pickup location is at Gilman and 2nd.

Tips for greening your events - This page has all sorts of ideas for making your events more green, from holding them outdoors to using online invitations to buying local or waste-free products. Encourage participants to BYOC - Bring Your Own Cup - to PTA and faculty meetings.

Create a Classroom Party Basket - Ask a Green Team or PTA Parent to create a "Zero Waste Party Basket" with reusable plates, cups, and utensils. The basket can be checked out from the office, used, washed, and returned clean for the next classroom party.